Ophelia had never seen Leon like this. A few nights after their long walk around the city, Leon hurriedly took her to a hall on the opposite side of the library. A shelf slid to the side as he pulled out a book. He told Ophelia to go into the darkness and wait for him to come back.

Before he slid the shelf back to its place, Ophelia saw the distress on his face. He was unnaturally pale, his eyes shaking. And then he went away, leaving her in the dark.

The girl was terrified as well. She began to step back without noticing the long staircase behind her.

A gasp escaped her lips as she slipped and fell from the top of the staircase. Just as she screamed, something caught her and prevented her from falling. The touch was cold and tough. Ophelia's heart began to race. She held tight onto her bag containing a few books and her belongings.

For a moment she forgot how to breathe. A bunch of thoughts swayed through her mind. Where am I? Why did he leave me here, in this cold place?

Ophelia felt like she was slowly being dragged down. When she stopped, she heard a voice. "So, you are Ophelia Silverton, right? The future tragedy of an entire kingdom."

The low, feminine voice sent chills down her spine. Future tragedy?

Leon had never told her about this. Ophelia hugged her tote bag tighter and asked, "Who are you?"

A bright light filled the entire place. Ophelia found out that the creature that snaked around her body was a giant white serpent with glowing scales. Its bright cerulean blue eyes were staring straight into hers. Ophelia's body trembled at the sight of the serpent.

The glowing serpent answered her question. "I am Cuseiphin. I won't hurt you, so don't be afraid." She let Ophelia stand on the ground. The girl was still slightly trembling and tightly holding onto her tote bag.

Cuseiphin said, smiling, "He left you here, didn't he? There must be something wrong up there."

Ophelia ignored Cuseiphin's words and said, "What were you saying earlier? The tragedy..."

"He didn't tell you anything? Oh my, oh my." Cuseiphin continued after a pause, "Look around. These spirits are afraid of you because you are meant to destroy an entire kingdom."

Ophelia looked around and saw the little white ghost-like creatures stepping away from her, looking at her with frightened eyes. She looked back at Cuseiphin and asked, "Is that what he wants me to do? Destroy Nordlys?"

Her words were melancholic for Cuseiphin. Cuseiphin's scales became slightly less bright than before. The serpent smiled a little and said, "I don't know what he wants to do, but I'm sure that his intentions are worthy."

They were silent for a while until Ophelia noticed the enormous cut in Cuseiphin's body. "What happened to you?" she asked with a look of concern, pointing at the wound.

Cuseiphin looked at it and said, "Oh, it was him. He did it so he could get away from me."

Ophelia frowned, cursing Leon in her mind. "Why is he so cruel?"

Cuseiphin laughed. "You see, I was guarding the foretelling of destruction. I was too stubborn to give it to him, so he had to do this to me. But I don't mind."

"You mean this book?" said Ophelia as she took the heavy book from her bag.

"Yes, exactly. Make sure nobody sees it except you and him. If this goes into the wrong hands, we all will die," warned Cuseiphin.

Ophelia nodded and kept the book in her bag. "I promise I will keep it safe."

Cuseiphin smiled.

Just then, someone came down the long staircase. It was Leon and he was panting in exhaustion. "Ophelia, we're going."

Ophelia went to him and asked, "What happened up there?"

"A bunch of werewolves attacked. Looks like they're still creeping in the shadows of abandoned cities."

"D-does that mean... we have to leave this place?"

Leon nodded. Ophelia looked at Cuseiphin and waved her hand. "Goodbye."

Then she climbed up the stairs, following Leon. The staircase was incredibly long, and it became darker with each step they climbed. Leon had not talked during their entire walk. When they reached the peak, the door opened.

Coming out of the dark, Ophelia realized how much her head had been aching earlier. The air was much fresher as well. She felt relieved to come back up, but not for long.

While walking out of the hall, she tripped over something. Leon caught her before she fell headfirst onto the floor. When she looked down, she realized she had not tripped over something, but someone. Someone's corpse.

Ophelia froze at the sight of the bloody corpse, while Leon placed his hand on her mouth.

"We don't have time to look at corpses. Let's go," said Leon hastily. Removing his hand from her mouth, he rushed out of the library with Ophelia. The girl followed him, counting the number of corpses that could be seen.

The library used to be beautiful. Even the previous night was calm and serene, but now, it was soiled with the blood of the creatures Leon killed. The thought of it made Ophelia feel sick, but she had to follow this murderer wherever he went. There was no one else she could trust.

When they were out, Leon held her wrist and said, "We can't stay here anymore. Hold on tight; we're going up."

Then it happened: a pair of majestic, ink-black wings stretched out behind him. Ophelia gazed at them with wonder. His wings looked perfect on him; they were dark and mysterious. The dark feathers made his porcelain skin stand out even more. Ophelia wondered, Who would think such a beauty like him could be a murderer?

She let him hold onto her and fly up, heading over the clouds. Ophelia had always enjoyed the flight, but this time she was hateful of Leon's actions.

It was dawn; the rays of light made Ophelia feel warm. It was comfortable for her, but not for Leon. As usual, his skin was starting to burn.

"We will get down when I find a good place to land."

Ophelia did not want to pay attention to his words. She felt sick hearing his voice.

The girl shivered at the cold, prickly wind as they were swiftly flying down. Leon had brought her into a place that was not abandoned like the previous one. People seemed to live there, though there was no one around.

They were standing in a dark alleyway. The place was not very busy, perhaps it was because it was daytime. Ophelia peeked outside and saw nobody on the road. Everyone had already returned home after an entire night's work.

When she looked behind, there was a completely different person. At first, she did not recognize him, but then she realized: Leon was a shapeshifter. The man was Leon, but in a different form: a much shorter, gullible-looking redhead. She looked closer and found that he had hidden his burns as well.

Just before Leon took her out of the alley, Ophelia uttered, "Why did you kill them?"

Leon stopped walking and looked behind. He said as if his reason was obvious, "They were there to kill you. They are Nordlys' enemies."

"Then what about Cuseiphin? Why did you hurt her?" Ophelia's fists clenched and teeth gritted.

Leon's eyebrow rose. He came closer to her and his eyes became shady. "That dragoness threatened me..." His throat ached and he did not finish the sentence. Rather, he smirked devilishly. "What if I didn't do what I did? Would you be standing here?"

"Would I be suffering here if you never came to me in the first place?" Ophelia muttered as her eyes became blurry.

"Nathaniel would have killed you there and then."

Ophelia took a moment to breathe while Leon strode out of the alley. Recollecting her thoughts, she said, "How many lives have you taken so far, just because of this crazy dream of yours to destroy a kingdom? You're alone a destruction."

The man stood there for a while. Then he scoffed, "Crazy dream of mine? Say this to Erik, the runaway prince. The coward who left his kingdom to rot in the hands of his brother. The weakling who told me to raise you, the destruction, to save his kingdom. When he is responsible for everything, you say that this is a crazy dream of mine?"

"So, you're completely innocent, is Erik the one behind your corruption? Why do you even work for him if it disgusts you so much?"

Leon turned around at her, eyes dark and uncertain. "Only because he is my friend. I would love to burn you to ashes if he wasn't."

He looked away from her and walked away. His words were cold and heartless, echoing in Ophelia's mind. Tears ran down her cheeks as she realized how much he wished she was not there.

Ophelia walked away as well, but in the opposite path.